Do Sellers Cover Closing Costs?
Published by Cash Flow Deals · Last updated 2026-08-04 · Published and reviewed for compliance by Camilo Palacio, a Florida Licensed Realtor
Yes. You typically pay real estate commission, title and escrow fees, transfer taxes, and your prorated share of property taxes at closing. Seller-side closing costs excluding commission usually run about 1% to 3% of the sale price. Commission has historically added another 5% to 6%, though the 2024 NAR Sitzer/Burnett settlement made that rate fully negotiable. With Cash Flow Deals, you choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. On Premium, our fee appears as a separate line item on the closing statement, not a markup baked into your price. Costs are settled from the sale proceeds out of our share, so nothing comes out of your pocket.
| Factor | Traditional Route | Cash Flow Deals |
|---|---|---|
| How the fee shows up | Commission plus several assorted closing fees | One clearly itemized fee on the closing statement |
| When the net price is set | Estimated at listing, can shift after negotiation and repairs | Your number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. |
| Who funds the purchase | Buyer's own lender, same as any financed sale | Buyer's own FHA or conventional lender |
What Closing Costs Sellers Actually Pay
Sellers typically cover real estate commission, owner's title insurance in many markets, escrow or closing agent fees, transfer taxes, recording fees, and a prorated share of property taxes and any HOA dues up through the closing date. If the seller still owes a mortgage, that payoff plus any prepayment penalty comes out of proceeds at closing too. None of this is optional paperwork. It is money that leaves the seller's proceeds before a check ever gets cut.
How Much Sellers Pay, in Real Numbers
Excluding commission, seller-side closing costs generally run about 1% to 3% of the sale price nationally, driven mostly by title fees, transfer taxes, and recording costs, and the exact figure depends heavily on local transfer tax rates. Commission has traditionally been the biggest line item, often adding another 5% to 6% combined for both the seller's and buyer's agents. On a $350,000 sale, total seller-side costs including commission often land somewhere in the $21,000 to $31,500 range, roughly 6% to 9% of the price, though the number moves a lot based on location and what gets negotiated.
Commission Is Now Negotiable, Not Fixed
The 2024 NAR Sitzer/Burnett settlement, effective August 17, 2024, changed how commission works nationwide. A listing agent can no longer publish buyer-agent compensation on the MLS, and buyer's agents now sign a written agreement with their buyer spelling out how much they will be paid before touring a home. Commission was never legally fixed before this, but the settlement made the negotiable, unbundled nature of it explicit and enforced. Sellers now negotiate commission directly instead of seeing it presented as a standard percentage.
How Cash Flow Deals Handles the Fee
You choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. With Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed, with costs settled from the sale proceeds out of our share; with Fast Cash, you sell as-is without making repairs. On your Premium sale, Cash Flow Deals is paid as its own separate line item on the closing statement, not as a markup on the sale price or a hidden spread. Your buyer's own FHA or conventional lender funds the purchase, and title transfers once, directly from you to your buyer, so your closing statement shows a normal financed sale with a clearly itemized fee. If your buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still choose the Fast Cash Offer at its own number instead of the Premium Cash Offer.
Common questions
Can a seller ask the buyer to cover some closing costs instead?
Yes. Seller concessions, where the seller agrees to pay part of the buyer's closing costs in exchange for a stronger offer or higher price, are common and fully negotiable between the parties.
Are seller closing costs the same in every state?
No. Transfer tax rates and which party customarily pays for title insurance vary by state and even by county, so the exact percentage moves depending on where the home is.
Is commission still 6% after the NAR settlement?
There is no fixed or mandatory rate. The 2024 NAR Sitzer/Burnett settlement, effective August 17, 2024, requires commission to be negotiated directly and disclosed in writing rather than published on the MLS, so the actual rate varies by agent and by deal.
Do sellers pay less in closing costs if there's no agent involved?
Selling without a listing agent removes that side of the commission, but title fees, transfer taxes, escrow fees, and prorated taxes still apply regardless of who represents the seller.
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What this means for your options
A value estimate is a starting point, not a guaranteed number.
Wait and see
Keep the property as-is and hope conditions improve. The mortgage, insurance, and upkeep keep costing money while you wait, with no set date for things to turn around.
List with a traditional agent
Standard MLS listing, typically 5-6% in commission, and a financed buyer whose deal depends on appraisal, inspection, and lender approval — any of which can fall through after weeks on market.
Sell to Cash Flow Deals
Two offers for your house, Fast Cash or Premium Cash, and you choose. Cash: Cash Flow Deals buys the house as-is and closes. Premium: More money. A pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have buys directly from you.
See your selling options before you decide anything.